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Sharief's crucial meeting with Clinton begins

C K Arora in Washington

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief today met President Bill Clinton, apparently to seek American help in ending the fighting in the Kargil sector of Jammu & Kashmir which has entered its seventh week, raising the spectre of a war between India and Pakistan.

The unscheduled meeting, which began immediately after Sharief's arrival, was expected to last at least an hour-and-a-half.

Sharief is accompanied by Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz and Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed.

The fact that the President agreed to see Sharief on one of America's biggest holidays -- Fourth of July, Independence Day, and a Sunday at that -- shows the urgency of the situation and the importance he attaches to efforts to resolve the crisis.

A White House statement last night made it clear that Sharief had sought the meeting and Clinton had accepted his "request to discuss how to resolve the immediate situation".

The White House, however, made it clear that Clinton had no intention of trying to mediate in the crisis, reiterating the American policy that the two countries should resolve the 50-year-old Kashmir dispute directly without any third party intervening.

"As part of the president's efforts regarding the current conflict in Kashmir," the White House statement said, Clinton spoke again yesterday with both Prime Minister Sharief and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "All agreed the situation is dangerous and could escalate if not resolved quickly," it added.

White House spokesman P J Crowley said Sharief had requested the meeting and "I would assume he's bringing some ideas on how to resolve the current situation". Crowley, however, did not give details of any such proposal.

The Dawn of Lahore, however, reported from Washington, quoting 'diplomatic sources', that Sharief might announce the pullout of Pakistani-supported forces from Kargil -- the advice he has repeatedly received from the US and other countries, including China, in recent days.

Clinton, before agreeing to the meeting, conferred on telephone with Vajpayee who raised no objections to the meeting, said a White House official who asked not to be identified.

According to a report from New Delhi, Clinton invited Vajpayee also to Washington, but he expressed his inability to undertake the trip at this juncture.

In multiple messages since the conflict over Kashmir was reignited two months ago, the Clinton administration has made clear its position that Pakistan is the aggressor and must pull back its troops to its side of the Line of Control.

At the administration's request, the final communique of the G-8 summit last month condemned the "infiltration of armed intruders" into the region.

General Anthony C Zinni, commander of the United States central command, then delivered a personal message to the same effect to Sharief.

Washington has rejected Islamabad's characterisation of the invaders as 'Kashmiri separatist guerrillas' rather than Pakistani regulars.

One bit of leverage the administration might employ if today's meeting is unsuccessful is to hold up a $100 million loan from the International Monetary Fund to Pakistan.

UNI

EARLIER REPORT:
Sharief flies off to Washington to meet Clinton

The Kargil Crisis

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